Iraqi security forces have repelled an assault by Takfiri militants on the highly sensitive city of Samarra, home to one of the holiest Islamic sites.

Iraqi security forces, supported by civilian volunteer forces, are battling against radical militants from the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), at the entrances to the Samarra where the holy shrine of Imam Hassan al-Askari is located.

After Tikrit attack launched by terrorists, the Iraqi army operation spread down the main highway towards Baghdad, with militants attacking security forces on the northern outskirts of Samarra, just 70 miles (110 kilometers) from the capital.

State television said security forces responded with air strikes, and residents said the fighting subsided without the militants entering the city.

The Iraqi troops are still chasing ISIL terrorists in the province, according to the media reports.

The Iraqi defense ministry issued a statement in which it asserted that the army regained control over Tikrit and vowed to strike ISIL terrorists in Mosul in order to impose the governmental authority in the city.

ISIL militants had taken control of the Iraqi city of Tikrit and freed hundreds of prisoners on Wednesday, police said.

A state of emergency was declared in Iraq after ISIL militants took control of Nineveh province and provincial capital Mosul on Tuesday, forcing over 500,000 people in and around the city to flee.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked the UN, the European Union, and the Arab League to help the country fight the terrorists.

Violence has been also raging elsewhere in the country with bombings and shootings across Iraq.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry has said that militants have launched an open war in Iraq with the aim of pushing the Middle Eastern country into chaos.